Libyan prime minister Abdullah al-Thani quits after less than month in job, citing attack on family

Libya's interim prime minister handed his resignation to parliament on Sunday, less than one month into the job, saying gunmen had tried to attack his family.

Abdullah al-Thani's resignation adds to the growing chaos in Libya, where the government has struggled to control brigades of former rebels nearly three years after the fall of Moamar Gaddafi.

The General National Congress (GNC), the country's parliament, has not yet officially recognised Mr Thani's resignation and will decide what to do at its next session on Tuesday, a GNC spokesman said.

Mr Thani said he would stay in his post until the GNC selected a new prime minister.

"We are meeting now and we're looking for someone to replace him," Mohamed Ali Abdallah, head of the GNC's planning and budget committee, told Reuters.

In his resignation letter, Mr Thani said he and his family had been the victim of a "cowardly attack" and he could not "accept to see any violence because of my position".

"I have decided therefore to present my apologies as I cannot accept this temporary position," the letter said, without giving details about the incident.

Ahmed Lamin, a spokesman for the prime minister's office, said no-one had been hurt in the attack, which he described as a "near miss" outside Mr Thani's family home.

Mr Thani was only appointed earlier this month, after his predecessor, Ali Zeidan, was sacked amid ongoing instability.

The post of interim prime minister is becoming difficult to fill. A suitable candidate must be able to bridge deep political divides in a parliament inter-laced with militia rivalries.

With no real national army, OPEC member Libya is struggling with its transition to democracy as the brigades of former rebels who once fought Gaddafi refuse to disarm and often challenge the state's authority.

Mr Zeidan had failed to end a standoff with rebels who were occupying vital oil ports.

Mr Thani's government reached an agreement to reopen two ports, but the return of steady oil revenues is not a given.

The attack on Mr Thani's family is not the first time a prime minister has been threatened.

Mr Zeidan, who fled to Europe after he was removed from his post, was briefly abducted from his hotel by a militia group last year.

He often complained of being unable to govern because of political rivalries and pressure from militias.